Loins Of Punjab's director passes away

When a friend mentioned casually that Manish Acharya had died, I thought it was a joke, and I burst out laughing.
But it was true. Life’s cruel joke ‘death’ played on a friend who made one of the funniest films I’ve seen, “Loins Of Punjab Presents”, I’ve watched it more than once. Each time, I’ve laughed till tears rolled down my cheeks. Yes Manish, you made one of the funniest films we have seen.And acted in it. You played an earnest South Indian wooing, of all people, Seema Rahmani with a tenderness that broke my heart.
In real life too, you were gentle and that yankee twang of yours which you desperately wanted to get rid of. Now that too is gone. The first person I thought of on hearing about Manish was our mutual friend, Shabana Azmi. Playing a self-important socialite and a wannabe reality show winner in “Loins Of Punjab Presents”, Shabana was excruciatingly funny. But when I called her on hearing of Manish’s death, Shabana was not laughing. “I can’t believe Manish is gone. It’s been so sudden. He sent me a message saying he was off to Matheran on holiday,” she sobbed.
When I got to know Manish, he had just come back from the US to Mumbai with plans of making films. He once told me excitedly, “To me, the 1980s was the archetypal decade of filmy happenings. The suspense, action and stunts were all so cinematic. Today, the car chase sequences look so hi-tech. I want to shoot those famous car chases from the 1980s on Fiats and Ambassadors screeching down dusty roads. I want the cars, trousers, hairstyles and shoes from that decade. That’s the era of true Hindi cinema.”
Although his English film, “Loins Of Punjab Presents” did not do great business at the Indian box office, Manish had lots of offers in Mumbai. “But most producers offered me films without seeing “Loins Of Punjab...”. I found that peculiar,” he said. Manish was now happy to be on home ground. “I’m now in Mumbai and looking forward to making my very filmy flick from Bollywood. Of course, it’ll be in Hindi.”
The last time he got in touch was to send me DVDs of “Loins Of Punjab Presents”. “You were so supportive. You loved my film. I won’t disappoint you the next time.”
You just did, Manish.
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